Fontaines D.C.
Alexandra Palace, November 2024.
Fontaines D.C. (November 2024).
Me and Anita. I'm Dublin born, and there's something about watching a Dublin band take over a London institution that makes you sit up a bit straighter.
Alexandra Palace on a cold November Friday, the first of two sold-out nights on the Romance tour, and my first time at Ally Pally for a gig. A pig to get to, but so worth it. Up the hill at dusk, a coffee on the terrace looking back over London, then the Palm Court and the bar before the main hall.
The stage was simple: the band's name in lights, and a huge heart balloon hanging over it. Opening with Romance was pure cinema, and then it was banger after banger, with Bug, Jackie Down the Line and I Love You the highlights. Grian Chatten prowled about the stage, and the new stuff sounded massive in that room. Starburster is a different animal live.
And at the end the whole stage went green, white and orange. It was impossible not to feel it.
The setlist.
All 21 songs from the night, in the order they played them. Listen: Apple Music · Spotify
Setlist from setlist.fm. More from 2024: my songs of the year.
